


Crypt

by IAmTheWinterAssassin



Category: Cyberpunk 2077 (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/M, Gen, Girl In the Box Trope, M/M, Memory Loss
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-23
Updated: 2021-01-23
Packaged: 2021-03-15 02:21:11
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,411
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28930914
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IAmTheWinterAssassin/pseuds/IAmTheWinterAssassin
Summary: In an alternate universe, PI River Ward and his boyfriend Valentine find an unexpected discovery in an old collapsed Arasaka lab while working a kidnapping job. They don't know their name, where they came from, or why they were in cryosleep, but River, his friends and family, try and help them find the life that was stolen from them.
Relationships: Male V & River Ward, River Ward/Original Character(s), V/River Ward
Kudos: 1





	Crypt

**Author's Note:**

> I know I have another work in progress but I can't get this idea out of my head.  
> This would be after River leaves NCPD, there is no biochip, but I am thinking of bringing Johnny in in future chapters.

River pulled the collar of his jacket up around his ears, the chill that undercut the current rainy weather of Night City mixed with the damp cold of the crypt like Underground was enough to make him shiver. He hadn’t considered that maybe the bone deep cold was also due to the victims he and Valentine had just found in the next chamber over. Three girls, no older than Monique, all dressed like they were born two centuries ago, all nearly comatose, their small hands were so cold when he picked them up, but as Valentine called for Trauma Team he had slipped deeper into hide away. A series of tunnels, old abandoned pieces of the Night City Metro that led to old basements, night clubs, stores, all laid empty after the Underground was sealed off. 

River’s flashlight bounced off the metal and cement of what looked like an old corpo basement storage area, large cracks had created cramped pathways. The rubble across the floor was moved aside, indicating that someone had been using the path at one point. The possibility that there were more victims deeper in, churned River’s stomach. 

“I found another path, I’m going to check for more people,” River called over his Holo. 

“Careful, I have to go lead the paramedics in, you won’t have any back up,” Valentine responded. 

“Got it,” River responded, squeezing his big frame through the large fissure in the old foundation. 

The other side smelt like water and dirt mixed with rusting metal and to his surprise, coolant. He shuffled in until he was finally free of the crumbling shell around him, but instead of a storage room he found what could only be described as some kind of server room.

“Holy shit V,” he breathed, the line crackling in return, he was too deep for his Holo to reach Valentine. 

He scanned over the wall of vintage tech, old servers from the 20s, mixed with newer pieces that had obviously been updated over the years. Cobwebs hung thick from the ceiling but as River moved further in it was clear they hadn’t been inhabited as long as this place had been buried. Half of the room had collapsed in on itself, but as he moved forward he could hear the distinct hum of electricity still running. He pushed in, finding a panel against the far wall, several screens laid covered in a thick layer of dirt and rocks that had fallen from the ceiling. River ran a hand over the center screen, clearing the glass, only for it to spring to life, the sudden light in the darkness made him flinch, bringing his hand to cover his eyes and to let him adjust. 

“Holy shit,” his breath billowed up in a pillar of fog in the cold. 

The Arasaka logo stared back at him, even under the debris the room around him came to life, a familiar buzz filling the air as servers kicked. He could finally see where he was standing and what else was in the room, even if the light was faint. An adjoining chamber was to his left, what looked like a ripper doc’s chair sat in the center, surrounded by medical instruments, old clunky versions of the current medical tech available. But it wasn’t the relics that caught his eye, beside the chair was what looked like some kind of netrunner coffin. It was black, although the dust that coated it made it look more of a dark grey than anything, from the top and bottom sprung wires and tubes all neatly tied together and labeled, but River would be damned if he even knew what half of them meant. 

The top had a warning, ‘Do Not Disengage Before Proper Thaw Protocol Is Performed’, the implication that something was frozen in the human sized container making him morbidly curious. He was there to find answers, however to a completely different question, and technically he had already answered those, but he was still going to poke around, what kind of private investigator was he if he didn’t at least ‘poke around’. 

He found a small panel at the top of the contraption, its screen dull but still on, only three buttons were available. Induce Cryo, Thaw Protocol, and Vital Check, all relatively easy to understand, but River was most curious about Vital Check. He pressed it, knowing full well that whatever was inside had been alive at one point. 

Subject V  
Heart Rate: 124  
Brain Monitor: Delta - 2Hz  
Blood Pressure: 112/67  
Status: Optimal

River blinked a few times, trying to truly process what he was reading. Whatever, or whoever was inside was still alive. Had he stumbled on another victim? Or some kind of Arasaka patient? The more he tried to puzzle it all out the more it didn’t make sense, why was Arasaka keeping someone in a lab? If it was the kidnapper then how had he used any of the tech without disturbing the layers of dirt and dust on the consoles? He didn’t have time to think about it, he needed to get whoever was inside out. He pressed Thaw Procedure on the console, the strange black coffin hissed and hummed, before finally a beep rang out into the concrete tomb. He went back to its side, grabbing the handle that was just below the warning sign, having to yank on it several times to wrench it free of centuries of caked on debris.

The hissing became louder as the pod decompressed, the air only adding to the frigid atmosphere as it billowed against River. Finally as the lid rested back on its hinge he could see the figure beneath the fog, a young woman with long black hair and warm brown skin was laid out against a white interior. She was much older than the girls who had been taken, maybe in her mid 20s, and she was the opposite of the type of girl the kidnapper seemed to prefer, but that only meant that she was somehow tied to Arasaka and not his case. River pushed aside the growing whirlpool of questions that clouded his head as he shrugged off his coat and laid it over her naked body, before pulling her from the box she had been locked in. 

“I’ve got you, you’re safe,” He muttered, now that she was against him, breathing, alive, he knew the questions didn’t matter. Someone somewhere knew who she was, and he was going to get her home safe, just like the others. 

“I’ve got another one,” River called over the Holo as he made his way back the way he came, the call becoming clearer the closer he got to his exit. 

“What?” Valentine’s voice was slightly muffled by static. 

“I need your help getting her through this hole in the wall, come further in,” River said, squatting down to look through the opening. 

The two of them wouldn’t be able to go through together, but if he handed her to Valentine they could move her without injury. It took a minute or two for Valentine to make his way to where River had ventured off to, peering across the opening, squinting in the darkness. 

“She’s a lot older than the others,” Valentine said, River nodding as he turned to hand her through to him.

Valentine knelt down, reaching out to take the frail body, surprised by how cold her skin was when he touched it. He couldn’t help but study her features, she had an elegantly curved nose, large pink lips and even though her eyes were shut, he could see how long her eyelashes were. The girls they had found were all under the age of 13, white and blond, dressed up like little dolls from centuries ago. 

“Where did you find her?” Valentine asked over his shoulder as he began his ascent to where Trauma Team had landed. 

“In some kind of lab,” River said, squeezing through the last bit of the opening. 

Valentine turned, pausing for a moment, only to continue his way up, he had a myriad of questions but his first priority was getting anyone hurt, out. River followed behind, glancing down every now and then at the girl in Valentine’s arms, the girls they had found were likely traumatized, forever changed by this horrid tragedy they experienced at the hands of another human being, and he wondered idly, what this girl had seen and been through.


End file.
